Angela Killian

Monday January 10, 2011 was Joe’s first day of training at work. He took the scooter we had rented and I took a cab to search for a teaching job. I tried to straighten my hair that morning, but the cheap converter we bought started to smoke and fried my Chi. Western comforts were slowly being ripped away from me, but I liked the excitement of shifting lifestyles.

It took a while to explain to the taxi driver what I needed to accomplish that day. He graciously drove me around the island to several government schools and translated my inquiries for the school directors, who didn’t speak a lick of English. Every director told us the same thing “ECC”, which I later deciphered as a teacher placement center, thanks to Google. I went to ECC the following day to submit my work documents for placement. That was my first experience with all the unnecessary steps required in Thailand to accomplish what should be a simple task.

We went for drives on Joe’s days off to explore. We were amazed by the simple and beautiful scenery. The tsunami ruined a lot of things and the island hadn’t fully recovered in most places. Decrepit bars, restaurants, houses and hotels added a seedy feel to the coastline, but did not diminish the spectacular sea views.

I started to get used to the Thai food. The watermelon fruit shakes were to die for and I discovered my go-to dish – chicken with cashew nuts. I basically lived on spring rolls and fried rice for 6 months. I missed food from home, but was committed to an all Thai diet. Most of the coffee served was instant, so I had a lot of Lipton yellow label tea, which is very popular in Thailand.

I hated having to buy unknown cosmetic and toiletry brands. Many of the labels were in Thai only and I had to make educated guesses about what was inside. The shower water was highly chlorinated so I was destined to a life of frizzy, dried out hair.

Life was very boring for me with Joe working 5 days per week. I went jogging in the morning (usually to the mini mart or internet café), then I went swimming for a little while. Typically I would have fresh pineapple and watermelon for breakfast after my jog. After my swim I would have a sandwich on wheat bread with one Kraft single and mustard. After that, I would read outside on the porch until Joe hot home from work. Maid service was included in the rent and we sent the laundry off to be done so I really had no obligations. I was ready to start working so I could save money and upgrade from cheese sandwiches.

In the evenings Joe and I mostly laid in bed and watched movies or TV series we bought in Patong on my old ibook G4. There was cable TV in the room, but there weren’t many English channels aside from The Rachel Zoe Project, which I actually grew to enjoy for the nostalgic feelings of living in America it produced.

We laid in bed in the morning before Joe left for work eating Jack and Jill brand peanut butter crackers for breakfast. The studio we rented had one gas burner that was forever broken so instant ramen noodles became a staple in my diet thanks to the electric water kettle. Some nights we would order dinner from the Baleyon restaurant and the staff would bring it to our room.

Eventually I received an offer to work at the government school near my house. I was stoked because it was only a 20 minute walk if I could handle walking past the evil stray dogs. I stopped at the same mini mart every day to buy canned coffee and snacks for my students. The mini mart owner was always trying to strike a bargain with me to teach his village’s kids English. I always politely declined because it seemed like he was really looking for a babysitter. I worked at that school for two months before accepting a more permanent placement. The pay was around $10 USD per hour, but I only worked 14 hours per week.

After 2 months of running from wild dogs and mostly handling crowd control instead of teaching anything substantial, I received a job offer at a private school. I didn’t mind that it was 1 hour south of my house because I was ready for full time work and independence. Females were required to wear skirts and high heels were encouraged. Being 5’9, a little tomboyish and clandestinely anti-establishment, I opted for flats and rarely wore make-up. Like most schools, there were a lot of politics involved, but I received accolades for my classroom management and teaching skills. I mean, teaching one’s native language isn’t rocket science. I loved working with other foreign teachers, but I was the odd man out for living so far away. I never made it to any of their drunken outings. The other teachers had an end goal in mind for their Thailand adventures – “Gap year in Thailand” or “Teach English for one year while partying as hard as possible”. Sure, I moved to Thailand on a whim, but the decision was more of a long term commitment to get out of my comfort zone. I had no expiration date.

Around that time we had also agreed on the 2/2 house near the airport and not far from Joe’s work. I never cared for the house particularly. The layout was boxy, but it had air conditioning in every room and pretty much every kitchen appliance you could want except for an oven.

Coin laundry didn’t exist when we first arrived so we were forced to drop it off and pick it up every week. There was no sign outside of the dirty little house, but we heard from other expats that they did a wonderful job. The wife seemed to be the one in charge while the husband and son mostly laid around sleeping all day or baiting fishing devices when it was in season.

I thoroughly enjoyed my new, strange life. I felt so liberated running errands on the back of a motorbike. Inhibitions and the moral code that I had been programmed to follow swept over my body, through my hair and were left behind me on the winding roads.